Traffic at Malta International Airport in September registered an increase of more than 89,000 passenger movements over the same month last year, with a total of 626,488 guests welcomed at MIA.

This translated into an increase of 16.7 per cent over 2016. Moreover, September was the third consecutive month at the airport to surpass the 600,000 mark in terms of passenger numbers.

Standing at 86.7 per cent, September’s seat load factor (SLF) remained constant, in spite of the increase in both aircraft movements (14.6 per cent) and seat capacity (17.0 per cent).

The United Kingdom continued to lead Malta International Airport’s list of top markets, contributing 146,160 passenger movements to September’s total traffic, and growing by 4.7 per cent over last year mainly due to an increase in capacity as a result of the Cruise & Fly operation.

On the other hand, the rest of the top markets, these being Italy (10.5 per cent), Germany (25.8 per cent) and France (17.6 per cent) all registered double-digit growth. Spain, which is the fifth largest market, is maintaining its year-to-date progress, with a hefty 43.8 per cent increase in passenger movements in September, partly stemming from increased flight frequencies to Madrid.